My understanding of my project became better as time went on. At the beginning, I was very confused about what exactly my project was trying to understand in the broader sense. I understood the individual experiments I was conducting and how they help me accomplish my goals, but I did not know how exactly my…
Mischief Management: End-of-Semester Wrap Up
Over the course of my CUTF experience, the most noticeable change in my understanding of teaching has been a new tendency to observe every class from the teaching perspective as well as the learning perspective. I briefly touched on this in my last post, where I mentioned that because I took “Harry Potter” as a…
Vomiting Physiology – A Work in Progress
Throughout my time working under the Chancellor’s Undergraduate Research Fellowship (CURF), I have gained a greater understanding of the research process as a whole. I have experienced some highs and lows in my work this semester, but I am glad to say that I took something away from each and every experience. Sometimes, it is…
Advocacy for Students on the Inside and on the Outside
During my time serving as the teaching assistant I feel that I have been able to provide resources to the students. Particularly, after a class in which a formerly incarcerated man spoke with us, a few students mentioned that they really felt they were missing out on the in-person experience. In response to this, I…
Growing as a Researcher: Reflecting on my Experience with CURF
Reflecting on my experiences with CURF over the past semester, it is evident that I have grown immensely as a researcher. Among many other things, I have learned the importance of patience, flexibility, and persistence while approaching the numerous challenges that often accompany scientific research. In terms of my particular research project, I was given…
Lessons in Research: I tried, I failed, I learned…
One of the things that I learned the most throughout my research experience has been the value of discussion. Discussing ideas and approaches with my research mentor and various other specialists in the field at various points during my research has been extremely helpful and has helped me to find the path that I am…
Becoming a Researcher: Handling a Steep Learning Curve
Due to COVID-related logistical issues, I have only recently been allowed to physically conduct work in the lab. However, in my first couple of weeks at the Geller Lab I have been able to learn a great deal. One great aspect of being new to almost everything I am seeing is that the learning never…
Teaching Ancient Law
Hello everyone! My name is Tyler Viljaste, and I am a Junior pursuing a dual degree and Bachelor of Philosophy in Politics&Philosophy and Finance. This semester, I am working with my fellowship mentor Bernard Hibbitts on a special teaching project through the Chancellors Undergraduate Teaching Fellowship for his honors law class entitled “How Law Began”….
Ancient Disciplines
As I mentioned in an earlier post, Dr. Horton’s Critical Making course fundamentally shaped my approach to college. When I first arrived, I tried to anticipate everything and plan my four years out by day two. However, I quickly learned that doors open and close in exciting ways, so I should keep an open mind….
Distant and Critical
“Critical making refers to the hands-on productive activities that link digital technologies to society. It was invented to bridge the gap between creative physical and conceptual exploration.” -Wikepedia. Tucked away on the 4th floor of the Cathedral of Learning lies Virtual Media Lab where Dr. Zach Horton hosts his Critical Making course in the fall….
